


Sibling Sibling!

by MirrorDragon



Category: Hollow Knight (Video Games)
Genre: Based on my playthrough, Cos i felt really bad about leaving them alone, Family Fluff, Gen, Where everytime anything happened I'd go and tell Hollow about it, a smidge of angst, mostly just cute
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-08
Updated: 2019-08-30
Packaged: 2020-06-24 15:50:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19726813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MirrorDragon/pseuds/MirrorDragon
Summary: Hallownest is a marvellous place to explore, full of wonders and mysteries. Still, such a place feels empty when there's no one to share your adventures with.Luckily, Ghost has a lonely sibling trapped in the Temple of the Black Egg, and they're a great listener.





	1. Found you!

**Author's Note:**

> I'm on a train to Glasgow for 7 hours, so I had nothing better to do than write. I'm a sucker for fluff.

The hooded bug sighed thoughtfully, picking up his nail from where it was stabbed into the ground. He slung it over his shoulder and gave the strange carved masks on the wall a fond pat, looking down at the little bug beside him.

“Well, good luck on your adventures my small friend. I wonder if we’ll ever know what lays inside this egg. What a mystery…” He waved, before leaping away into the darkness. The echoing of his footsteps grew fainter, tapping against the damp stone, until the only remaining sounds were the cold drops of water hitting the cavern floor.

The little bug watched him go, hollow eyes unblinking as the traveller disappeared through the pale mist that pooled at the doorway. It shone slightly from the lumafly lanterns, a blue glow mixing with the specs of dust that filtered from the ceiling, dancing through the air. The air was still, silent and bitter. Almost frozen in time. A stark contrast from the village just above, where the wind hummed and tugged at their cloak, fresher and playful. Alive.

Ghost slowly lifted a hand, placing it on the stone seal. It was cold, as all cave stone was, but in some strange way, it felt like the rock within was prickling with warmth. They paused a moment, feeling the magic tingle on their palm, before tapping lightly. The quiet was suffocating, or was that the air? A hint of sweet, too little to really be noticeable, but still…

Another pause, and the little knight shuffled their feet.

_“…Sibling?”_

There was no sound, no voice that spoke. But the words still formed, somehow. A language unknown to Hallownest’s occupants. Unheard by all except the shadows that creep and linger where they shouldn’t.

_“Sibling… here?”_

A faint clatter of pebbles echoed, skittering across the ground somewhere nearby. Ghost let their head clunk softly against the rock.

 _“Heard you sibling. Heard call cry help. Heard you sibling.”  
_They patted the stone again.

_“Came to find you. Sibling hear me?”_

There was no response of course, they were whispering to a rock. A long moment passed in silence, the knight waiting patiently, but eventually they lifted up, nodding to themselves assuredly. That was okay, they didn’t have to speak. Ghost knew their sibling was there. They sat down, hands resting on the stone and knees tucked underneath them.

 _“Heard sibling. Sibling okay.”_ They reassured. The call had been so loud that it shook through the wastelands, craggy bits of rock had crumbled with the reverberations, but trapped in the black egg, their sibling wouldn’t know if anyone had heard. It was lucky for them that Ghost hadn’t travelled far, or they might never have heard it over the howling of the wind.

 _“Sibling tired, don’t worry, Ghost here.”_ They nodded again, tapping the wall with more force. How were they going to break through? The stone was too hard to crack or smash, and the seals woven in would almost certainly prevent any damage anyway. It was probably a good thing, no one would be able to hurt their sibling this way, but they needed to get out now. Their cry had been so panicked, so laced with fear and pain that Ghost had sprinted all the way back to the cursed kingdom.

But if they couldn’t directly smash their way in, they’d have to think.

If those seals weren’t there, perhaps they’d have a chance. It was a long shot, but they had to hope. Their sibling had been trapped for so long, with the light, all alone. Scrambling out of the abyss and escaping though the wastelands had already gotten rather lonely, so Ghost could hardly imagine how isolated and abandoned their poor sibling must feel.

If they weren’t able to rescue them now, then the knight would have to do their best to keep them company, for as long as it took. Their sibling wouldn’t be alone, not anymore.

Their footsteps made no sound as they hopped up, pacing back and forth and tapping away at the egg with curiosity.

_“Sibling doing great, keeping Light in dark trapped away! But tired now, need help. Need nap, well deserved. Ghost help sibling! Don’t worry.”_

Ghost tapped on the stone with even more vigour.

_“We’ll do it together!”_

Despite the knight’s endless tapping, the stone did not reply, nor did it appear to have any weaknesses. It didn't even show any signs of wear or age. The only distinct markings were the masks carved into the smooth surface. Ghost peered up at them, reaching up as high as they could on their tiptoes to tap them, just like the other bug had done. Perhaps they were the key to cracking through the magic? Or perhaps they were decorations, to keep their sibling happy. Either way, it was a clue.

And a clue was a start. 

Ghost buzzed with newfound excitement, hopping from one foot to the other.

_“Will return. Promise. Explore seek help! Help sibling! Sibling amazing, held on for so long! See you soon! Love thank you bye!_

With a final double pat to the stone, hard enough for the slaps to echo through the temple, they rushed off into the mist. It parted around their running form, billowing out in great clouds and swirling in spirals.

Silence descended back over the temple of the black egg, and the chalky mist calmed and settled, creeping along the ground and softly pooling again by the entrance.

The knight twisted their head around, taking in the environment for a moment before choosing the cavern on the right. A loose stalactite did not appreciate their approach and crashed to the ground just in front of their next step. Ghost jumped backwards, falling on their backside, but once assured they were unharmed, they looked sheepishly back. Hopefully their sibling hadn’t heard their squeak, they really didn’t want to worry them. They would be okay, Ghost just had to be more careful next time.

This kingdom was massive, if the ascent from the void to the surface gave any indication, and crawling with danger at every turn. But Ghost loved adventuring, so it was fine, and there were bound to be treasures hidden all throughout the ancient ruins. They were going to explore every inch of Hallownest if it meant they could free their family, and the stories they could tell their sibling along the way would definitely keep them happy.

They could do this. They had to.

Dust fell from their cloak as the knight brushed it down, and they held their nail in one hand at the ready. With one last glance, they set off, keeping a careful eye on the ceiling.


	2. Gifts from friends

_“Sibling! Sibling!”_

Even though their voice had no sound, the force at which they flung themselves at the stone seal made a noticeable _thump_ , and the patter of footsteps across the damp ground had disturbed the vengeflies enough to make them restless. Their high-pitched squawks were cutting though the air from the other cavern, but Ghost was too busy tapping at the rock surface to have any worries about them.

_“Sibling! Went exploring! Saw new things! Did things! So exciting, have new thing! Listen listen sibling listen!”_

Their cloak was absolutely coated in dust, bits of rock and flecks of orange clinging to the ragged fabric, and as they hopped up and down with each _‘Listen’_ , it rained around them in grey clouds.

 _“Crossroads full of bugs, scream loud and chase. Fun to hit, explode in colours! Winged ones most fun! They go Squeak!”_ With arm movements, they acted out flapping and squeaking, waving and spinning in circles, before giggling with a burble of void and making themselves comfortable on the cold ground. Although, being still was an obvious challenge, and they continued to tap on the stone with alternating hands, toes fidgeting as they sat on crossed legs. There was just so much they needed to say, and it was all getting jumbled up with the excitement.

 _“Met new bug, called Myla. Made pretty noise! Said called sing?”_ They tilted their head slightly. _“Tried sing too, not very good though. Think she not notice my sing.”_

Soon after they had started to explore the caverns, the sound of her voice had lured them into a part of the crossroads unnoticed before. The sound was unlike anything the knight had head before. Beautiful and changing, flowing through the air like the wind, in a way that made their body feel funny. Soothing, but also making them jittery with excitement.

Mixed with the stunning, shimmering lights from the vibrant crystals, they couldn’t help themselves from dashing in to investigate, nearly frightening the life out of the other bug as they almost collided into her.

They had tried to join in as per her request, quite eager for a duet, Myla had been oblivious to their attempts, staring at their hollow, silent mask with confusion, before simply turning back to her work with a cheerful shrug.

Even still, Ghost had put their little heart into their it; they didn’t know the words and had no idea how to follow a tune, but they gave it a good go. At first, they had just been yelling along with a monotone scream. Perhaps it was a good thing that Myla couldn’t hear them.

In the end, they had resigned to just sitting by her and enjoying her music, swaying and humming silently with the rhythm of her pickaxe clinking against the bright crystal.

Even thinking of her song now made them feel lighter, a little warmer. Happier. Placing one hand on the rock, Ghost pretended to wait for a response, feeling the prickling warmth of the seals on their palm before sitting back.

 _“Sibling would like her sing.”_ They said, nodding assuredly. _“Listen, went like this.”_

Again, they didn’t know any of the words, but Ghost was sure their sibling wouldn’t mind. So they sang the parts of the tune they remembered, loud enough that their voice would have echoed through the cavern if it was audible, and certainly making up for their lack of skill with enthusiasm.

It was important that their sibling remembered the tune, so they repeated it a few times. That way, they could sing along with them from inside the temple. If it made Ghost feel better, then it was sure to cheer their sibling up! Maybe it would make them feel light and warm too.

A minute or so passed, and a drop of water fell from the roof and splashed on their mask. They shivered as it trickled down under their collar and down their back, and wriggled to wipe it off on their cloak.

_“Ghost like sing. Sibling, ever tried sing? Think sibling would have pretty sing too, we could together, when sibling free.”_

_“Oh! Then, then-”_ They jumped up as if they’d been zapped, pacing back and forth and flapping their hands. All the words spilling out before they had a chance to forget any of them. _“-woke up small confused bug, called Sly, and fought big bug full of mini bugs. And hit lots of spitty bugs. Don’t like spitty bugs, hard to hit, fly away too fast.”_

Besides that, the infection that launched towards them at top speed stung like acid and burned until they managed to scrub it off in the hot spring. But they didn’t feel like mentioning that, they didn’t want their sibling to feel like they weren’t doing a good enough job. Even if some of the Light was swelling up inside the feral bugs, Ghost was fine, their sibling had enough to worry about. Holding the infection inside them must be a horrendously difficult task, they weren’t going to criticise. 

_“Exciting thing! Found in middle, marked it on map. Oh, Ghost making map too!”_ They added, dragging it from their cloak and laying it on the ground.

 _“Drawing important things. Drew sibling here!”_ They pointed to the sketch at the top of the crossroads, carefully drawn in white. The face was squarish, small and very similar to Ghost’s, but instead of their own two antlers, the drawing had a mess of bramble like horns, as many as could fit. The whole thing was bordered with a red inked heart, which had dripped and smudged from how thick it had been layered on.

 _“Didn’t know what sibling looked like, so made it up. Hope don’t mind. Put heart around it, because Ghost love sibling so so much!”_ They punctuated that with two big taps to the wall, arms outstretched as far as they would go, as if they were hugging the stone.

Shuffling back to the map, they turned to the side like they were letting the stone door see as well, and pointed to the sketched horned monster at the centre.

_“Big thing in middle, big exciting thing! Huge big massive bug! With big nail, bigger than Ghost! Curly bug at end. Swung hit shook ground, knocked rocks from roof! But Ghost won! Jumped dodged hit back! Won!”_

Both their arms waved in the air with great enthusiasm, and then went right back to tapping again.

“ _Then. New thing got! Best thing, got from friend snail! Sibling watch!”_

The vengeflies stirred and shrieked in alarm, flapping about the neighbouring cavern as the knight jumped up, and with a great burst of dark, their body erupted with a bolt of magic. It blasted into the opposite wall, sending debris flying up in a great, angry cloud, and they waved their arms up again in victory, before sending out another bolt.

_“Magic spell boom! Sibling hear? Goes out in black, feels like big burst in chest, not hurt, feels like yawn? Tingle magic all through body. Then goes whoosh, crashes far away! Big swoosh boom!”_

The little knight put emphasis on the sounds, jumping up and waving in an arc with the ‘ _Shhh’_ before repeating, _“Magic boom, listen.”,_ and blasting the projectile directly into the sealed door. Sibling would definitely hear that one.

The room groaned with the aftershocks, rock creaking and dust billowing up in heavy swirls, and the clatter of pebbles falling loose from the ceiling rained across the room in sharp echoes. Yet, despite the power of the magic, the stone seals were untouched by the damage, still holding fast.

Ghost’s stomach sank just a little; for a second, they were really hoping that they would see a crack. It wasn’t going to be that simple, they already knew, but it still hurt.

With their new spell explained, they tapped on the stone again, thinking hard about what else there was to say. All the interesting parts had already been retold, at least, all the parts they could remember. But it was too important to make sure their sibling knew about all their discoveries, so they wouldn’t feel left out.

The next area was now unlocked for them, all ready for them to explore, and their body was restless with overexcitement. Yet part of them didn’t want to leave, their heart longed to stay here to keep them company.

The sooner you go, Ghost reasoned, the sooner you can be back! And return with more stories!

They nodded their head, giving the stone one last hard smack before hopping away.

_“Ghost use boom, find new place to explore. Find new secrets, come back, tell sibling later! Promise!”_

Never one to walk anywhere when sprinting was an option, the little knight had already disappeared out the door, shouting out with a _“Bye sibling love miss you bye!”_ , and heading off on their next adventure.

When they next returned to the temple, the air smelt a little sweeter. It might have been the pollen clinging to their cloak, which was currently trailing bits of stick and leaves across the ground as they bounded along, but they weren’t too sure, because it was more _sickly_ sweet than the flowers they were used to.

And they had smelt _a lot_ of them, fully dunking their head in a few of them to investigate the nectar.

Which, they had learnt, was not such a good idea. One such plant had been coated with a sticky sap, and now the tips of their horns were decorated with all the loose greenery that had brushed past on their travels; fluffy seedlings, moss and leaves, glued on in vibrant clusters as if the little knight was blossoming, and no matter how many times they tried scratching it off, more things just stuck back on.

If their antlers weren’t enough to make them stand out in the dim grey of the crossroads, in their hands, they delicately carried a large bouquet of flowers, abundant enough to cover their entire face. 

Pink and white and blue and yellow, long and thin and fat and fluffy, some smelly and some scentless, the flowers were lush and dynamic. A few had no petals at all: branches and grasses that the knight had considered fascinating.

 _“Sibling! Ghost back! Brought present!”_ They called out, very carefully skidding to a stop and placing down their gift in front of the sealed door, keeping the stems all together. Tilting their head and examining the ground, they knelt down and started to arrange them all into a line.

_“New place, so pretty, so green, green everywhere, Ghost loved it! Favourite place! Ground squishy and made Ghost’s feet wet. Bubbling water fast everywhere. Called Greenpath on sign. Good name, fits well. Many green!”_

The flower collection was starting to take form, the knight organising it into size order with precise concentration. The tiniest, bright white flowers on the left and the longest, black striped reeds on the right.

_“Air smelt like sweet and sugar. Little things go buzz and twitter. Hot humid. Colours and soft things. Ghost brought sibling favourite things!”_

They looked down at their bouquet with another tilt of their head, angling back and forth with deliberation, before scooping the line of plants up into their arms again and rearranging them into groups of similar shapes.

_“Big tube purple flower, bigger than mask, long yellow sticks in middle, pointy purple ends, not smell. Flat pink cup flower, small red spotty, soft petal sweet smell, little fuzzy leaf. Squishy wet green clump, mud smell, hidden little yellow flowers-”_

Each and every gift was described in meticulous detail as the knight placed them down in their designated piles, from the shape to the texture to how fragile the leaves were. And once finally satisfied with the presentation they had created, six piles for similar hues, Ghost shuffled backwards a little so as not to crowd, and gently brushed their hand over the plants they were currently describing.

Minutes passed, long minutes of sitting and organising, chatting away, toes and fingers twitching and tapping. Other bugs seemed to possess the ability to sit still, peacefully contemplating the surroundings, letting the world pass by at an easy pace.

Ghost had absolutely not been gifted with this skill. They could hardly stand being stationary for more than a few seconds. Every drop of void in their body itching to jump and run and climb. Even as they sat here, their body was wriggling from side to side like a bag full of unruly worms.

 _“Hope sibling likes present.”_ They said, brushing some of the yellow dust off their fingers as they touched the petals of the last flower. _“Sibling can’t see, but know present is here.”_

The instant their task was deemed complete, the little knight did a rather crude backwards roly-poly, and hopped back upright. Leaves and pollen shimmering around them and leaving a golden halo where they dragged across the ground.

_“Lots of bugs in Greenpath. Found Quirrel again! Traveller, before was here. Exploring like Ghost. Very nice, tells stories! Gave Ghost a pat, Ghost really likes that! Ghost going to try pat on Quirrel next time.”_

It had been an unexpected, but rather delightful discovery. Kind touches and soft hands on their horns were not something the knight was particularly used to, contact almost always lead to pain. Frantic scratches, clawing, ripping, biting.

But what Quirrel had done made them feel warm and… happy.

When Ghost rescued their sibling, they were going to shower them with pats.

_“Then met big bug, scary voice, sound like thunder. Gifted journal, to write in. Write about hunted bugs. Ghost like gift, means explore even more! Sketching in it, page for each bug. Big scary bug likes sketches, says Ghost has spirit. Make good hunter.”_

They tapped from one foot to the other, wriggling their shoulder a little as if dancing with pride, and the movement caused a leaf to dislodge from one horn and sway slowly to the ground, cutting through the air in a zigzag. The knight watched it descend, batting at its underside so it stayed in the air.

_"Found special cloak, goes fast! Goes whoosh and fluffs out. Flies far, can jump from high places! Explore even more. Whoosh!”_

As the leaf reached the ground, they surged forwards with a burst of energy, the fabric billowed out behind them and sending them flying with a rush of air. Sweet-smelling fragments still speckling behind them as they leapt back and forth, letting the sound of the wind under their cloak chime though the room.

 _“Found red bug, called Hornet, chased!”_ They said, still jumping. _“Caught, attack! Fun! So fun! Jumped spun dive, hard but fun! Got hit lots, but won!”_

On one leap forwards, a stray branch curled under their foot, and they tumbled forwards, leaves spiralling around them as they rolled head over heels, landing face down on the cold stone and sliding a good few paces forwards. The lumaflies flickered in agitation, lights skirting across the room, but the little knight pushed themselves up without a single trace of shame, and whipped their head from side to side.

Without even bothering to untangle the bramble from their cloak, they glanced back to the temple door, eyes wandering from the assortment of flowers, up to the masks etched deep into the stone.

The air was too sweet.

 _“Sibling doing so well, so great. Amazing, wonderful. Sibling best sibling in whole world. Ghost loves sibling more than anything._ _Going now, leave present here. Love sibling lots, doing so great. Keep strong, love so much.”_

With one final nod, they dashed towards the entrance, springing forwards on silent steps. 

_“Bye, soon back, bye! Love adore bye!”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all your kind comments, I'm going to just have fun with this and update every now and then when I need some sweet little Ghost content. This is a bit challenging to write, I think because of the dialogue style, but it's so wholesome to work on.


	3. Myla's Melody

When her little friend had come back to visit, Myla had been quite delighted to have an audience again. Mining away in the sharp pink glow was a lonely job. She did enjoy her work, or she would have stopped long ago, though perhaps it was just easy to get carried away with such a tedious task.

Sometimes she lost track of how long she had been down here, even if her body had no aches, the emptiness of the caves grew colder and brighter with each rhythmic strike of her pick. Yet the strange little knight always seemed happy to listen to her singing when they came by, and that changed up the routine enough to make her content.

However this time, they didn’t even wait for her to great them before grabbing her arm and tugging her out of the room. They were a strong bug despite their size, and Myla hadn’t been able to escape their grip until they had led her all the way through the caverns, past some of the more aggressive bugs, and then, just as she’d started to panic, they made their way inside a large, foreboding temple.

Almost instantly, her little friend had begun pointing to her, and then back to the temple with frantic gestures. Which only served to make her more and more confused.

“I d-d-don’t understand, what is it y-you w-want me to do?” She asked, skittishly peering over her shoulder towards the entrance. A shrill cry echoed from a distant cavern and she nearly turned tail and fled all the way back to her safe, familiar corner of the mines. But her feet stayed stubbornly in place even as she trembled, and her little friend seemed to be confident enough to keep their weapon tucked away. So she allowed herself relax just a little.

The knight just pointed at the temple again, then at her, and then began to circle their arms in a sort of ‘Go on’ motion. The more she stared, the more actions they performed, waving their hands in-front of their mouth and spinning on one leg and hopping up and down. But as ridiculous as it was, eventually, she started to understand.

“Y-you… want me t-t-to sing?” They nodded furiously, and then pointed to the stone wall.

“Y-you w-want me to sing… t-to the rock?” Another nod. Her brows knitted together, but it was then that she noticed the flowers.

This must be a shrine of some sort, or perhaps a grave. If what she had heard from the old bug on the surface was accurate, then this temple had been here for centuries, but if someone had left flowers here, then this mystery place must be quite special to that someone.

Her friend was waiting patiently for her answer, still fidgeting, as they always did, and it occurred to Myla that the offering must have been brought by them. It seemed they cared an awful lot for the bug this shrine was dedicated too.

She nodded with a short hum, and her heart grew warm with how the little knight perked up, lights practically dancing behind their hollow mask. It was such a cute gesture, and rather flattering. She barely concealed her blush; they must think rather highly of her voice.

“I g-get it. You want m-me to sing for them. You’re a v-v-very sweet bug. O-okay, I’ll do my best.”

The knight eagerly sat down beside her, hands in their lap and peering up with adoration, so despite the slight embarrassment she had about performing for an imaginary crowd, she let her voice carry through the air.

She had to admit, once the awkwardness had passes, it was fun. She sang every song she could remember, the words somehow came to her easier here, and her friend clapped along and bouncing their head to a number of them. She even remembered a few new songs, that had evaded her mind before, and the knight was especially delighted to hear those ones.

Once she grew tired, which came upon her suddenly like a great, heavy cloud of exhaustion, she bid her peculiar little friend farewell and hurried back up the well to Dirtmouth.

In the end, she actually returned a few times, singing to the empty stone walls.

She told herself it was because of the ambience, it made her voice echo quite nicely, and as she learned, the infected bugs never came close to this area. Furthermore, after the Elderbug had earnestly persuaded not to return to her mines, singing was one of the only hobbies she could reliably find her passion in.

Truthfully, even pretending there was someone listening from inside the temple, some mysterious spirit that she was cheering up with her songs, keeping company, it made her feel a little less lonely in the cold, endless nights.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> She's having a happy ending because she deserves it.


End file.
